Quick links to procedures on this page:

Creating selections from layers

You can create a selection from a layer, multiple layers, or layer group. You can also add the transparency mask of a layer, or layer group, to a previous selection. To modify a layer-based selection, you can subtract or intersect the transparency mask of a layer, or layer group, with a previous selection. Intersecting includes only those parts that are common to all selected layers. For more information, see Getting started with layers.

To create a selection from a layer Back to Top

 

Choose Select Select Layer Content.
You can also select the content of a layer from the Layers panel, by holding down Command (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows), and clicking the title of the layer that you want to select.
Choose Select Select Group Content.
You can also select the content of a layer group from the Layers panel, by clicking the group, and then holding down Command (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows), and clicking the title of the layer group that you want to select.
In the Layers panel, hold down Shift + Command (macOS) or Shift + Ctrl (Windows), and click the titles of the layers that you want to add.
In the Layers panel, hold down Option + Command (macOS) or Alt + Ctrl (Windows), and click the title of the layer that you want to subtract.
In the Layers panel, hold down Shift + Option + Command (macOS) or Shift +Alt + Ctrl (Windows), and click the title of the layer that you want to intersect.
In the Layers panel, click the Layer options button , and choose Convert To Default Layer. Choose Select Load Selection. In the Load Selection dialog box, choose the transparency of the selected layer from the Load From list box, and enable the Replace Selection option.

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You can also create a selection from a layer by choosing Load Selection from the Select menu. In the Load Selection dialog box, choose the transparency of the selected layer from the Load From list box, and enable the Replace Selection option.


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